VIRTUOSO PIZZERIA
Hoppen Hierarchy: ★★★★
District: Benson
New York-Style Pizzeria
Perfect For: Lunch; Casual Dining; Takeout
Standout Dishes: Hot Honey Pizza; Chicago Italian Beef Sandwich; Nana Losole Slice; Pepperoni Pizza; Daily Specials (check Twitter)
Only God knows how many pizzas David Losole has made in his life.
The son of the owners of Lo Sole Mio, Omaha’s now closed but still beloved Italian restaurant, David was practically raised in an Italian kitchen. He attended and graduated from Tony Gemignani’s International School of Pizza in San Francisco, becoming Nebraska’s first (and one of two) certified Pizzaiolo.
Then he opened Virtuoso Pizzeria in the Benson district in 2017 and has been slinging out enormous pies ever since. The man knows pizza like the back of his hand at this point.
Yet, as I watch him construct a pizza on a random Tuesday night, I’m struck by his attention to detail in every part of the creation process. The excitement he has in explaining what type of flour he uses, and why. The delicate motion he uses to get the dough to exactly the right thickness. The careful distribution of the cheese. The thoughtful (and plentiful) layering of pepperoni—not one centimeter of this pizza is without a few of the salty discs.
To most people, this would be just another pie served to diners the chef does not know and will likely never meet. To David, however, it’s his latest masterpiece. That love is why, in just a few years, Virtuoso has established itself as one of Omaha’s pizza titans.
Virtuoso serves traditional New York slices, crafting pizzas 20 inches in diameter and dividing them into six enormous portions, leaving patrons with slices the size of their face. Orders can be placed inside the restaurant, over the phone for pickup, or at an outside walk-up window.
Virtuoso always offers cheese, pepperoni and meatball slices, as well as a few daily specials. Salads and traditional Italian sandwiches are also available.
The crust is magnificent; it’s thin and airy, but definitely present. Virtuoso’s slices are foldable without being soggy, and the stone-baking process produces excellent charring. The sauce toes the line perfectly between acidic and sweet, and it accents the other elements without dominating the dish.
Every time I visit a pizza joint, the words of Matt Vrzal, the owner/chef at Piezon’s Pizzeria, sticks with me: a pizza restaurant should be defined by its cheese pizza. Any pizza joint can cover a slice with tons of ingredients and drizzles. But you can’t hide anything on just a plain slice of cheese pizza: the dough, sauce, and cheese are front and center. It’s here that quality pizza should be measured.
Virtuoso passes the Cheese Pizza Test with flying colors. David puts such care into the crust and sauce, and each pie is covered with just the right amount of Wisconsin-sourced cheese.
The cheese melds into the sauce, eliminating the grease that sogs up most pies. In fact, these are some of the least greasy pieces of pizza I’ve encountered.
This delicious base is elevated in Virtuoso’s Pepperoni Pizza. The restaurant uses small pepperoni discs that crisp and curl into bowls during the cooking process. These cups not only provide additional texture, but also create little grease pools that deliver serious flavor. And Virtuoso loads on the pepperonis, ensuring that every bite produces that brilliant hit of salt and fat.
The flavor gets amped up to an 11 on the Hot Honey specialty slice, which uses two styles of pepperoni: the crispy discs and traditional slices. The pizza then receives a hearty drizzle of Mike’s Hot Honey to create what’s my favorite slice in the city. This slice has it all: sweetness from the honey and the sauce; saltiness from the meat; just a touch of heat from the pepperoni and honey; a bit of acid in the sauce. It’s pizza perfection.
Several of Virtuoso’s specialty pies and special slices are topped with house made Italian sausage and meatballs, the latter of which are as good as any in Omaha. Pluto-sized meatballs are sliced and liberally spread across the pie, injecting savory, spicy notes into nearly every bite.
It should be noted that every pizza receives a “Happy Ending”: a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of oregano & grated Pecorino Romano cheese to just tie everything together.
The slices are enormous; most appetites will be satisfied with one, but the flavor is so great you’ll be tempted to (and will likely give into) ordering a second.
While Virtuoso’s pizzas are often best enjoyed simply, with just 1-2 toppings, David gets to show off his creativity on some of the specials. For example, the New York Crispy Apple Pizza is the first pizza I’ve ever heard of that employs green apples; the very concept seems ludicrous.
But the tartness of the thinly sliced fruit cuts through the chunks of spicy Italian sausage and saltiness of the gooey smoked mozzarella cheese. Peppadew peppers and caramelized onions add some zip and sweetness, and a finishing touch of Mike’s Hot Honey makes this a phenomenal pizza.
It makes no sense. At most pizzerias, this combination of ingredients is a disaster. At Virtuoso, it’s a masterpiece.
While Virtuoso is best known for its New York-style pies, it also offers a Chicago Cracker Thin version. This dough is rolled, not tossed, creating a more crispy, crunchy texture. It’s also cut tavern-style into square pieces as opposed to slices. This treatment is excellent when combined with Virtuoso’s meatballs, which are ground, formed, and chopped in house.
You can also get a slice of grandma style pizza with Virtuoso’s signature Nana Losole. Cooked in a rectangular pan rubbed with olive oil, the dough gets really crispy, almost as if it were fried. That’s topped with a smooth, creamy vodka sauce, a bright, sweet lemon agave pesto, and a swarm of crispy pepperonis. This slice beautifully brings sweet, spicy, and salty into one cohesive bite.
Pizza is clearly the headliner at Virtuoso, the Chicago Italian Beef deserves your attention as well. In fact, this sandwich is so packed with flavor that I’m fully convinced that if David had opted to open a sandwich shop rather than a pizza joint, it would’ve been a complete success.
The beef, pumped up with garlic and Virtuoso’s house rub, is shaved razor thin and is perfectly tender, and the spicy giardiniera adds some spice and oil. But the key is the bread/jus combo. The sandwich is best ordered dipped—or, as David calls it, baptized. The bread is toasted on the grill, then the entire sandwich is dunked into a vat of jus for several seconds. The bread inhales the salty, meaty flavor of the jus, but the toasting technique helps it maintain its integrity.
To take the flavor up another notch, order The Jimbo, which adds a housemade Italian sausage to the sandwich for an extra injection of spice, fat, and just the right touch of sweetness.
The Spicy Meatball Sandwich takes full advantage of Virtuoso’s incredible sliced meatballs, topping them with a deep, slightly sweet marinara and a blanket of provolone cheese. It’s a hearty sandwich, but the toasted bread is strong enough to contain it.
And then there’s the Salsiccia e Pepe (sausage and peppers), a terrific balance of sugar and fire. The house made Italian sausage brings a spicy, fatty flavor while the sautéed peppers, tomatoes, and garlic inject a welcome sweetness.
Whether you love pizza or have a craving for an Italian Beef Sandwich, you absolutely have to visit Virtuoso. Chances are you’ll run into David; he commonly roams the dining area, checking in on customers. Whether he chats with you for 20 seconds or takes you in back to show off the kitchen, you’ll immediately see his love and passion for his craft.
That’s why it doesn’t matter how many pizzas David Losole makes. He loves each and every one, and Omaha is a better pizza city for it.